October 30, 2014

Time for my latest obsessions + confessions, but this time it's pumpkin edition! All of my recent pumpkin obsessions (and a few pumpkin confessions).

Last week I made some of Veronica's Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Krispies Treats and they were the domb.com. Recipe and post coming soon!Then I went to photograph them. I had bought mini pumpkins to use as props in the photo. What do you know, they had gone bad and gotten moldy! Shoot! These were fresh mini pumpkins, so no clue why they had gone bad so quickly. According to Eat By Date, I should have been able to get a couple months out of em (unopened, fresh). No clue what happened there.And now I'm scared to buy pumpkins for fear that they'll go bad on me. Oh well. At least I've got some of these fantastic Pumpkin Oreos. What do you know, again, PJ thought he wasn't a pumpkin fan but he liked these!

Who's ready for Halloween? Not I! I don't have a costume, not that I need one this year since I won't be at our company's Halloween party. And I don't have any Halloween candy yet to pass out to the kiddos. The past few years only a handful of kids have showed up. And it's supposed to be crappy weather too. What are you all doing for Halloween? Any traditions? Peace, and bacon grease!

October 20, 2014

This month I was assigned to one of my fave blogs, Veronica's Cornucopia. I love Veronica! I've been a long time follower of her blog for a long time now and love her recipes, writing style, and all of her posts (when I get caught up on them months later, sorry V!). Plus she has the cutest little baby boy, Joshua!!! You can really get a sense of her fun personality here, I mean her glossary is awesome lol. I tend to have my own Desi language too :) Her recipes are awesome... I've had so many on my list for awhile to try and have made some myself. This.... so tempting. I'm seriously making this salad asap.

I've been wanting to try her Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Krispies Treats forever! But dang it when I went to my grocery store, they didn't have the Pumpkin Spice marshmallows :( Good thing I had seen another delicious rice crispy treat recipe on her blog too that I wanted to try... her Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats. Ok... brown butter. I feel like people should be shouting from the rooftops about it. Ok maybe I'm going a little overboard, but it seriously makes everything better! Main dishes and desserts alike.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then
foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. When the butter takes on a nutty color and the solids have turned a golden-brown, stir in the salt & marshmallows.

Turn off the heat
once the marshmallows are melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the cereal. Quickly spread
into prepared pan. You can use a piece of waxed/parchment paper sprayed with oil and press it firmly and evenly into the edges
and corners, or use a silicone spatula.

These
rice crispy (rice krispie?) treats are sooooooooo good. SO much better
than your standard rice crispy. That brown butter really makes a
difference and gives it this amazing flavor. And I love a little
saltiness to compliment all the sweet in my desserts, personally. So
these were perfect.A little too perfect. I couldn't stop eating them! Now I've gotta make more and try those Pumpkin ones before fall is over too.

October 8, 2014

Hey you!Time for another round of my latest obsessions + confessions! Ready? I know I am!It's fall, it's fall! Fall means apples. But wait, apple cider in margarita form? Pinch me please.Speaking of apple.... these Apple Cinnamon Pretzel Bites with Caramel Dipping Sauce are like the best thing since sliced bread. Actually, sliced bread is pretty lame compared to these.This soup = the epitome of fall. If I were on death row, this would be part of my last meal... Smothered Sweet Potato Fries!It is fall and all, but I can't lie, I'm still dreaming of sangrias and ice cream.Since it's fall, that officially means it's pumpkin season! I'm weird... when it comes to pumpkin, sometimes I love it, sometimes not so much. But lately I've been bookmarking all things pumpkin. I plan on doing a pumpkin roundup here soon :)WHO lives like this??? And WHOSE husband does this??? #fairytalereallifeMy dream sanctuary. What I Instagrammed vs What Was Really Happening. Ha I can definitely relate. Lovin this photo editing app! It's one of the best I've used, not that
I've used a lot. But it's so helpful for when I unfortunately have to
take orange yucky dimly lit food photos in restaurants... it can turn
them into decent pics and remove all that orange and add some exposure.
So glad I found you.This just made my life. DWTS meets Fresh Prince. Whoever made this happen, thank you. We all thank you.Personally, I've been going through some things lately. Last week I lost a good friend to suicide, and my cousin to an overdose. Both only 28 years old. Life is so hard sometimes. So needless to say, I've been doing a lot of grieving lately. Please please please, if you know anyone struggling with depression - try to reach out, get them professional help, be there. We need to stop the stigma associated with mental illness so people won't be so hesitant to reach out and ask for help when they need it. Obviously, depression and suicide are much more complicated than that but I just wanted to put that out there. Same goes for addiction. Death is tragic enough, but when it comes so unexpectedly, to young people who have full lives ahead of them and it wasn't necessarily their time, it just amplifies that pain. I'll never forget my dear friend, Ben. And I'll NEVER forget my little cousin Dustin, who I was lucky enough to have shared so many years of my life with. Some of my favorite childhood memories are because of him. I'll see them again one day....

I hope to get back in my recipe-posting groove. But let's face it, ever since I went back to school, the blog has took a hit and I'm not posting as often. I hope to get back to posting recipes, restaurant reviews, and of course these obsessions + confessions posts. How are all of you lovelies doing?! I'll be by your blogs eventually to get caught up! Peace, and bacon grease!